cortical

adjective

cor·​ti·​cal ˈkȯr-ti-kəl 

1

: of, relating to, or consisting of cortex

2

: involving or resulting from the action or condition of the cerebral cortex

cortically

ˈkȯr-ti-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Visual processing is affected with posterior cortical atrophy. —Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 17 Nov. 2021

Online guides show which areas of the brain to stimulate, roughly, by positioning the electrodes, in a process like watering your cortical lawn. —Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 8 Mar. 2023

Li’s collaborator Baoyang Hu, a neuroscientist from the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Zoology, grew clumps of human brain tissue called cortical organoids with and without each of these genes and identified two that made the organoids grow slightly bigger than normal. —Byelizabeth Pennisi, science.org, 5 Jan. 2023

Thin lines within a bone — much like growth rings in a tree — can indicate the age of an animal by marking where the growth of the cortical bone slowed or stopped for annual dry seasons or winters. —Anna Gibbs, Quanta Magazine, 20 Mar. 2023

However, the Alzheimer’s Association notes several other conditions that can cause dementia, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, Huntington’s disease, normal pressure hydrocephalus, posterior cortical atrophy, Parkinson’s disease, and Korsakoff syndrome. —Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 18 Feb. 2023

Gavin is one of only four people in the world known to have two rare conditions — Dravet syndrome, a catastrophic form of epilepsy, and cortical dysplasia, in which developing neurons fail to reach the parts of the brain for which they are genetically destined. —Kate Santich, orlandosentinel.com, 6 Nov. 2020

Locations in the neocortex: a theory of sensorimotor object recognition using cortical grid cells. —Ted Ladd, Forbes, 3 Oct. 2022

Steinecke says the team was surprised to find that the cholinergic neurons have such a strong and specific influence on the development of distant cortical cells, rather than neurons located closer by. —Conor Feehly, Discover Magazine, 31 Mar. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1671, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

cortical

adjective

cor·​ti·​cal ˈkȯrt-i-kəl 

1

: of, relating to, or consisting of cortex

cortical tissue

2

: involving or resulting from the action or condition of the cerebral cortex

cortical blindness

cortically

-k(ə-)lē 

adverb